The present invention relates to the installation of hinges on cabinets and particularly to a jig for locating the screw holes necessary for the installation of hinges on European style cabinets.
The accurate location of hinge components on cabinet and furniture doors is often time consuming and requires taking repeated measurements to ensure accurate alignment. Various types of devices have been developed as aids to help carpenters and home handymen to place precisely hinges on all types of doors.
The problem of accurate hinge component localisation is particularly important in the 32 millimeter cabinet making system. The 32 mm. cabinet system is also referred to as frameless construction since the hinges are mounted on the inside of the cabinet and are not seen on the face. The system was originally designed in Europe and cabinets mounted in this style are often referred to as xe2x80x9cEuropeanxe2x80x9d style cabinets.
The European style cabinet hinges typically comprise two components: the hinge plate and the hinge member cup. The hinge plate is mounted on the inside of the cabinet by two screws placed in holes previously drilled in the cabinet sidewall. The hinge member cup is recessed into the cabinet door. This requires a 35 mm. blind hole to be drilled into the door. Two screws also secure the hinge member cup in position. It is clearly apparent that the fit and finish of the cabinet depends upon the accurate positioning of each of the drill holes.
Previous attempts have been made to develop devices for the accurate alignment of European style hinges. U.S. Pat. No. 5,076,742, for example, is directed to a hinge drilling jig for use in the 32 mm. system of cabinet construction. While this device is useful for ensuring alignment of the hinge plate screw holes and the hinge member cup hole, use of the device involves repeatedly adjusting a number of sliding members for each door hinge which can be time consuming.
U.S. Pat. No. 6,077,001 is also directed to a device for mounting hinges. However, this device is highly engineered and is more applicable to industrial settings than on-site installations.
Thus there remains a real and unmet need for a device to accurately position hinges on European cabinets that is compact and easily adjustable for use on-site by both professional cabinet makers and the home handyman.
The present invention addresses the problem of accurate and rapid alignment of hinge components for installation on, for example, frameless or European style cabinets.
In one aspect of the invention, there is provided a hinge jig for accurately positioning drill holes for mounting hinges on cabinets. The jig comprises:
i) a jig body having
a) a handle portion
b) a template portion adjoined to said handle portion having a center hole for positioning a hinge cup drill hole in a cabinet door and an upper and lower offset hole for locating hinge plate mounting screw drill holes in a cabinet wall;
ii) an upper moveable arm attached to the top end and a lower moveable arm attached to the bottom end of said handle portion; and
iii) a stop for aligning said template portion along a vertical edge of said cabinet door or said cabinet wall.